


the boy who stole the stars

by rangerhitomi



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Biting, Cray AU, Dragon Kai, M/M, Neck Kissing, Non-Explicit Sex, Royal Paladin Aichi, Time Skips, star-crossed lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 09:25:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18443705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerhitomi/pseuds/rangerhitomi
Summary: The United Sanctuary and the Dragon Empire have always been at war. The half-dragon Kagero Vanguard Kai Toshiki and his human Royal Paladin rival Sendou Aichi fall in love anyway.





	the boy who stole the stars

**Author's Note:**

> my friends and I over on twitter have become enamored with Cray lore, and as a result have sort of created our own Cray AUs. this one isn't mine in particular, just an amalgamation of ideas that I wanted to put into a standalone one-shot. I feel a T rating is okay because even though it's... highly suggestive, it's still not overly explicit. Er... quite a lot steamier than I set out to write, anyway. Not explicit, but. still.

The moons of Cray are brighter here in the Dragon Empire than anywhere else.

Back home, in the United Sanctuary, the lights of the Holy City dim the starlight and fade the moons; the towering white walls of marble catch the lights' gleam and reflect it tenfold. To many denizens of the United Sanctuary, the walls make them feel safe at night, safe from invading forces that never seem to make it this far.

To Sendou Aichi, the walls are suffocating.

It's easier now, to sneak out; now that he holds rank, it takes no effort to convince the guards that he is leaving the walls of the City to visit his mother and sister, and that he doesn't need an escort. Even Ahmes seems to believe him, though it pains Aichi to have to lie to Ahmes's face. The lie never seems to get easier with time.

He will visit his family on this trip, though he must take a detour that Ahmes would never sanction.

The western edge of the Dragon Empire, and the border it shares with the United Sanctuary, is desolate. Trees grow short and stunted along the creekbeds, dry for sixteen months of the year, save for the one month of monsoons that drown the scorched lands. Aichi follows one such dry creek for a few miles, pulling his cloak tighter to his body. When at last the land slopes downward, he hops into the dusty creek and continues walking until he reaches what will, in a few months more, be a deep pool of water, but tonight is a dry, empty hole in the ground.

Half underground, it's more difficult to see, with the moons obscured by the ledges rising around him and the boulders lining the edges of the lake. But he can make out a single shadow, too misshapen to be a rock, leaning against the far wall.

Aichi smiles. No one can see; no point in hiding it.

The shadow flickers and moves, a cloak parts to reveal two red and gold clawed arms reaching for the young Royal Paladin. Aichi mirrors the movement as he breaks into a sprint, and throws himself into the arms of Kai Toshiki, heir to the title of Dragonic Overlord of Kagero.

"I missed you," Aichi whispers into Kai's chest.

Kai's tail flicks. He trails the back of a finger along Aichi's cheek. Aichi sighs into the gesture. "You kept me waiting."

"I know, I'm sorry--"

Kai smiles, showing off his sharp incisors, and reaches for Aichi's hand. Aichi grasps it eagerly. "There are some small caverns through here that will give us more privacy."

 

* * *

 

Blood pounded in his ears, somehow the only sound on the battlefield. But that couldn't be right, he thought, his sword meeting another, surely he should hear the shouting and the clanging and the screams of pain and victory... Even with the fights so spread out across the desolate landscape, he should have heard more.

He fell backward, stumbling over the tail of a fallen dragon. A spear came at his chest...

His hand found the hilt of his sword and he swung up to deflect it, but too late, too late!

The spear stopped, millimeters from the soft spot under his chest plate, and he looked up to see a man holding tight to the wrist of Aichi's would-be attacker. And for the first time, Aichi could hear something other than the pounding of his heart.

"I'll take this one."

A voice cool as ice, authoritative and sure, and the spear's owner nodded once and returned to the fray. The man leaned down, and reached out a hand, but not the hand of a man at all.

Glistening from his red and gold scales that covered his arms and up his neck, the hand ended in sharp claws that could tear Aichi's flesh open on a whim. Yet he didn't, and as Aichi stared back up at him, taking in his long incisors and razor-sharp carnassial teeth among his otherwise human teeth, the soft human flesh of his face, the high cheekbones and jewel-green eyes with slitted pupils, Aichi was taken in by his inhuman beauty.

The dragon man's slender tail flicked impatiently. "Stand up, Vanguard."

 _Never let your guard down in battle,_ Ahmes had always taught him, and surely allowing the enemy to help him to his feet would earn him an earful later, if it didn't end up with him dead. But Aichi was curious, and extended his hand in turn.

"How did you know I was the Vanguard?" he asked cautiously as he was lifted effortlessly to his feet.

The dragon man ran his tongue along the teeth between his main incisors. "You are always with the Blaster Blade." He tilted his head to the east, where many troops of both sides gathered around a knight and dragon dancing in battle, hundreds of meters away. "As I am always with the Overlord. We are surely equals." He grinned, a confident smirk that showed off those teeth. "And you don't fear me." His eyes focused hungrily on Aichi's blade, held loosely in his hand. His tail flicked again, eagerly, this time. "Do battle with me, Vanguard. I, Kai Toshiki, Vanguard of Kagero, have long thirsted for the thrill of a satisfying fight."

Aichi's grip tightened. He couldn't help but return the grin. "Interesting. I, Sendou Aichi, Vanguard of the Royal Paladins, accept your challenge."

Their blades clashed, sending a shockwave across the battlefield.

 

* * *

 

 

During the rain season, the cavern under the lake will be flooded entirely, but for now it is cool and damp, with small pools of water seeping from under rocks and through crevices. Underground, away from the scorching sun and of little interest to the hearty dragonfolk of Kagero and Narukami, it is a good place for comfort.

_"Aichi."_

And privacy.

They have precious few chances to meet in secret, and it must be in secret because Kagero and the Royal Paladins are at war, and on the field of battle they are enemies. But here, they can be friends, allies, rivals, lovers, and make love they do, by the single flickering light of a lantern.

Around the other Paladins, Aichi is quiet, thoughtful. He can be bold in battle, but more often than not he is an encouraging force for those around him. Alone, he is firm, attuned to his own needs and Kai's in equal measure; it is this care for Kai's comfort that has him wanting Aichi more and more.

He is more human than dragon, Aichi learns quickly, though some aspects of Kai's dragon anatomy make having sex difficult. Some positions give Kai no pleasure, and others cause Aichi pain. But they've figured it out, over time, and discover new movements and new sensations that bring them closer together.

Aichi bites hard into Kai's scaled shoulder to muffle his sounds of rapture as they reach the end. Kai, with teeth designed to cleave bodies in two, can only throw his head back into a rock and cry out before Aichi pulls his mouth from Kai's shoulder and silences him with his lips.

For an eternity, they are suspended in time, enemies of war locked in a kiss, bodies arched into the other's. Finally, finally, the dizzying, throbbing heat ebbs, and Aichi's body slumps into Kai's as they lean into the ground together.

Kai brushes Aichi's hair with his claws as Aichi, lying on top of Kai with his head over Kai's pounding heart, traces the scales on his shoulder to the flesh of his chest and stomach. The only sounds between them are the sounds of heavy, exhausted breathing and the thud of Kai's tail as it restlessly brushes the ground, until Aichi breaks the quiet with a shaky laugh.

"That took a lot more out of me than usual."

"Yeah," Kai breathes. He moves his hand from the back of Aichi's head down to his soft neck, tracing each vertebrae in Aichi's back until his hand rests at the small of Aichi's back. Aichi squirms at the sensation and presses his face into Kai's chest. "I... didn't hurt you, right?"

Once, Aichi would have shaken his head and earnestly insisted _no, no, of course not._ He never wanted Kai to see him as weak. But he closes his eyes now, smiles. "A little. But it's okay. It's a good kind of pain."

Aichi feels so content that Kai can't worry about it.

Aichi's exhaustion overcomes him before long, and he falls asleep there, on top of Kai. This is to be expected; as a half dragon, Kai has greater stamina than even a well-trained knight. He drapes his cloak over Aichi's naked body, for warmth, and holds him as he sleeps.

 

* * *

 

 

Blades clashed, over and over and over; somewhere in the heat of battle, the Paladin lost his helmet. He impatiently shoved his long bangs out of his eyes as he danced in a slow circle with the dragon man.

A handsome human, Kai thought to himself, and smiled.

Each time they stepped foot on the battlefield, they sought each other out. The others knew to give them space on instinct, the way they would for the eternal clashes between the wielder of the Blaster Blade and the Dragonic Overlord.

There was less a thirst for blood on either side than a desire to prove their strength; time and again, dragons and Paladins alike would leave each other wounded, to be tended to in peace, rather than deliver the finishing blow. It was war, but one that few truly seemed to want an end to.

Kai tired of the constant sounds of battle, of the yelling and screaming and roaring; he wanted to be alone with his rival, the way he knew his father wanted to be with his, and he knew Aichi felt the same. If they could have this, this fight and this passion, the taste of their own blood in their mouths and the smell of salt and sweat and the feel of their blades clanging together and the exhaustion in their entire bodies, if they could have this and only this, they would be content for eternity.

His distraction cost him.

His blade slipped from his hand and clattered to the solid earth; Aichi, perhaps taken aback at the ease with which he disarmed his rival, stumbled forward into Kai, and they tumbled to the ground together.

Aichi landed heavily on top of Kai, head knocking into Kai's jaw but sword still tightly in hand, and Kai tasted blood that wasn't his own.

"Ah..." Aichi grimaced, pushing himself off Kai and managing only to rest on his elbows. A trickle of blood matted his bangs. "Ow..."

Kai's curiosity outweighed the pain in his jaw as he lifted a clawed finger and brushed Aichi's hair out of his face. Aichi sucked in a gasp as Kai brought his finger, now covered in Aichi's blood, to his lips, forked tongue lapping it from his fingers. He watched Aichi's eyes for a reaction.

No terror there. Just fascination.

The bugles sounded a retreat. Aichi didn't move; he stared down at Kai as if he had never seen anything quite like him - well, perhaps he hadn't - until the sounds of the retreat drew closer. He forced himself to his knees, then to his feet, and, staggering slightly, bent to retrieve his discarded helmet.

"Aichi!" Kai called after him, and Aichi half-turned.

They stared at each other.

"Another time," Aichi said, lifting his free hand to his head. He wiped the blood away and licked it from his fingers with his own, very human tongue. He gave Kai a smile, almost but not quite a smirk. "Very soon."

 

* * *

 

 

When Aichi stirs, Kai's eyes snap open and adjust to the dimness instantly. It takes Aichi longer, with his eyes squinting against the dancing lantern, to hoist himself to a sitting position, straddling Kai's bare stomach.

"Did you sleep well?" Kai forces himself to look at Aichi's face, not his bare, toned chest or curved hips or--

"Yeah." Aichi rubs his eyes and smiles fondly. He seems to notice how close he is to accidentally rubbing himself against Kai and lifts his hips to unstraddle himself, face warming. "Aha... sorry."

Neither would have minded, Kai is sure, if they had more time.

As if reading Kai's mind, Aichi crawls closer. "I'll... have to leave soon." His voice drips with regret.

"I know."

They kiss, Aichi missing the first time and catching the corner of Kai's mouth, but Kai catches him with his incisors and guides him back. With teeth designed to cut through bone, Kai pulls his jaw open wider to avoid injuring Aichi as he snakes his tongue into Kai's willing mouth.

Kai's forked tongue had never bothered Aichi; he likes to play with it, and Kai lets him. But ever since that encounter, so many months ago, where Kai licked the blood from Aichi's head injury, Kai has yearned to bite into Aichi's soft skin and taste him in a way he hadn't before.

"Aichi," he breathes when Aichi pauses to catch his breath, "can I..."

"Of course..." Aichi leans his head back, letting Kai drag his mouth over Aichi's jaw, down his soft neck; he kisses him there, licks him, kisses, licks, over and over, down to Aichi's collar bones, to the tender curve between his neck and as he places his teeth over the skin, he feels the vibrations of Aichi's throat, whining Kai's name.

Kai's mind goes blank as he finds his back pushed into a mossy wall, Aichi straddling him a second time, his arms wrapped around Kai's shoulders and nails digging painlessly into Kai's scales; a thousand sensations fill him from the tip of his tail to his head, the most primal of all begging him to bite into the soft, sweaty human flesh in front of him.

And he does, his incisors sinking into Aichi with all the ease of biting a piece of meat, leaving two perfectly spaced holes in Aichi's skin, already stained red with blood, and Aichi all but shrieks, shoving his hips into Kai's abdomen.

"I-I'm sorry, I-"

"N-no," Aichi gasps, pulling Kai's face toward the blood, "it, I, I want--"

The blood has already reached Aichi's nipple. Kai laps at it, slowly, slowly, and Aichi's free hand flies to the wall to keep himself aloft. He's getting aroused again, Kai realizes at the feeling of Aichi's hips sliding along Kai's belly, and judging by the almost painful burning, so is he.

"You... you'll be late," he whispers between laps. He forces back a groan.

"I don't c-care." Aichi's voice is husky, pained. "I'm not going anywhere like, like this. K-keep going."

Kai licks, and licks, and when he finally reaches the holes on Aichi's neck, he places his mouth around them and sucks.

Aichi lets out a scream from deep in his chest, his hips buck into Kai's torso, and Kai can't hold back anymore--

 

* * *

 

 

The sun started to set before the day's battle concluded, bathing the battlefield in an orange glow. Above them, the moons were already visible.

They leaned against a cliff wall, catching their breath. No one else was around, though the sounds of the dying battle filled the air.

"It's a shame," Aichi whispered, looking at the sky, "that this has to be the way it is."

Fighting without purpose, without reason; such was the life of a Kagero Vanguard. Kai had accepted that. He thought, surely, Aichi would feel the same. "What do you mean?"

"I mean--" Aichi pushed himself away from the wall until he faced Kai. "I mean, we fight, all the time, but we don't need to, like this."

"I thought you enjoyed fighting me."

Aichi shook his head. "I do, just... why in a time of war? What if, one day, Ahmes told me I had to kill you? Or, or the Overlord told you to kill me? What then? What then?" His eyes watered. "I couldn't... I couldn't. And if I couldn't, Ahmes would."

"As if the Blaster Blade would be able to best me?" It was an attempt at a joke, somewhat, but Aichi just closed his eyes, and Kai sighed. "Hey. Don't cry." He brushed the back of his finger against Aichi's cheek, and Aichi's eyes snapped open with a small gasp.

"K-Kai..."

"We fight," Kai said in a low voice, "because it gives our life meaning. That thrill of battle, the adrenaline, the passion. You can't find a stronger connection to another soul anywhere."

Aichi's lips trembled as they parted, then pressed together again. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and finally blurted out "is that the only connection we can have?"

They looked at each other before Aichi seemed to realize what he'd suggested and dipped his head in embarrassment.

Kai weighed his response carefully, despite how his body was suddenly exhausted. "Why? What other connection did you have in mind?"

There, in the shadow of a towering cliff, in the deepest part of a dry lakebed on the edge of the Dragon Empire, the two warring Vanguards of the two most powerful clans in all of Cray, shared their first bittersweet kiss.

It would have to be a secret, they knew. As long as their clans warred, they were enemies, expected to kill the other when the Overlord and the Blaster Blade concluded their eternal feud.

They could hope then, for a while, that this feud would never end.

 

* * *

 

 

Aichi wobbles a little as Kai leads him from the cavern. They're both dead exhausted, both physically and emotionally; for all the times they had made love, they had never gone at it twice in one night. And Kai had been rougher than normal the second time; unable to keep his primal impulses at bay, he had pinned Aichi down by his tail and--

He shakes his head. Aichi had already assured him that he enjoyed it, and he must have, judging by... well, he must have enjoyed it nonetheless.

"Be careful," Kai whispers, straightening Aichi's cloak.

"I know."

"If you need to rest--"

"I _know."_

They kiss, briefly, and Aichi pulls away, following the Western Stars toward his home in the United Sanctuary.

He had always loved the night sky; stars twinkled, millions of miles away, perhaps giving life to humans and dragons on another world much like this one. But as they part that night under the light of the moons, Kai knows he could never find a star in the Dragon Empire sky, and there surely could never exist a star anywhere else, that shines brighter than his Vanguard.


End file.
